


Strut

by VZG



Category: Firefly
Genre: First Time, Internalized Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-08-04
Updated: 2008-08-04
Packaged: 2017-11-16 05:04:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/535818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VZG/pseuds/VZG
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The border worlds and the core worlds just aren't the same, but Jayne and Simon find a meeting point between them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strut

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt "Jayne/Simon, peacock".

There were certain _courting_ differences between the core planets and the border worlds; Jayne knew it before he ever so much as saw a person from the core, but he didn't really grasp the depth of those differences until the Tams came onboard.

The girl, she didn't really shake up his notions of what was and wasn't romance. She was too busy being crazy most of them time, and she didn't exactly get all dolled up just to sit around being crazy. Even if she had, Jayne was pretty sure the first sound out of her lips would have crushed any sort of sweet air there was about her. Plus, she scared him.

Simon, on the other hand — Simon didn't scare him, and when he came on board Jayne could've sworn he was doing what he did to Kaylee on purpose, strutting about like a peacock with its tail-feathers out. For the first month or so he kept expecting to find out some horrible sex secrets the boy had, that he was some sort of male sub-Companaion or something of that sort. He looked like he was always ready for a nice shindig or a wedding, at least.

It didn't register until later that that was just how Simon was, and that it was more or less normal in the core worlds. Everyone could look nice there every day without anyone batting an eye; it was like they spent their whole lives going from fancy party to fancy party. He couldn't even begin to imagine what their fancy parties were actually like — which was why he looked it up on the Cortex, videos of some _gala_ or other that left him stunned at the pointlessness of it all. He couldn't figure out why so many people who looked so stuffy and sexless put all that effort into looking attractive.

Not that it was all attractive, really. Some of the get-ups the rich got into actually had Jayne almost howling in laughter. He just didn't get privileged folk.

The thing was, it explained and unexplained a lot. It explained, for example, just why Simon got all riled up when Kaylee mentioned sex, and why he didn't quite get along with the rim folk so well. They all figured he was showing off, and assumed his arrogance before he even got a chance to speak. Not that he wasn't an arrogant bastard at times — at least from Jayne's eyes, anyway. The others aboard Serenity seemed to think he was just _awkward_ — which he was, no doubt about that, but he was also stuffy and too well-bred to fit in.

The things it unexplained were less pleasant, like why Jayne couldn't stop thinking about sex when he looked at Simon. Not sex _with_ Simon, really, because he wasn't sly, but he didn't understand how anyone could look at those fine, clean shirts with all the buttons, the pants that looked like they were made of material soft to the touch, the combed hair that practically begged to be mussed — how could they look at that and not think about tearing it all off, messing it up, staining it and just _undoing_ him until he really and truly looked like he was from the border worlds?

Not that Jayne imagined it. He couldn't really help the dreams he had, of course, so those didn't count. It wasn't fair to count the things he thought about when he wasn't really paying attention, either, and when he jerked off, if he thought of pretty lips that were just a bit familiar, well— they were just lips. Just fingers, just eyes.

Besides, there was Kaylee, and much as Jayne liked messing with the doctor he didn't really want to hurt her. She showed up in his dreams, too, and if she hadn't rejected him so often, before they even met Simon, he'd have thought of trying to take her, just to get Simon back for looking so damn much like he was just expecting to meet someone for sex right around the next corner all the time.

He was a gorram tease, really, the way he walked, the way he talked with that smooth voice, saying every word look it tasted like some kind of fresh, juicy fruit. Words weren't meant for that sort of thing; they were supposed to be short, to the point, just to get a message across, but no one ever seemed to notice when Simon wasted precious time with words that went on for too many seconds.

It was okay for Inara to act like that. Sex was her job, and not the way it was for a whore. She was supposed to walk, talk, and act like sex all the time, not just lay back and take it, and she did it so well that Jayne couldn't begrudge her for making him stiff when she walked into a room draped in something that didn't show any skin but brought to mind nothing but thoughts of her naked.

It wasn't okay for Simon. His job was to fix people up. He should've embodied — medicine. Something like that. Should've been unattractive, completely sterile, something that never made anyone think about sex.

It wasn't okay for him to strut around like that, with his feathers fanned out and advertising mating season, and then go and leave Kaylee wailing next to Serenity's engine.

Not that she wailed, really. She just sort of sniffled and didn't look anyone in the eye.

Jayne didn't get it at first, didn't understand what had made her go all glassy-eyed on them, until he heard her saying to Inara, "It weren't his fault, really. Simon's great, but I can't keep him with me 'gainst his will. He tried, and I appreciate that. I just wish I coulda been what he needed, you know?"

It wasn't okay for Simon to sex up Kaylee like some rutting inner planet Casanova and then drop her on unsteady feet. It was like a whore offering up the goods and then refusing, even when he paid.

And if Kaylee told him it wasn't his business, well, okay. He wouldn't go out of his way to find Simon and bash his brains in, but Serenity was only so big, and they'd have to run into each other at some point. He couldn't be held responsible for what came out of the heat of the moment, then.

He really didn't think Simon had any _right_ to look so baffled when he pushed him against the wall, one hand on the center of his chest, and got in his face.

" _Guaiguai long de dong!_ " Simon yelped, though he didn't struggle much, just letting himself be pinned.

"You ain't got no right to treat Kaylee that way," Jayne growled, leaning in close. "I don't care how it works back on Osiris — out here we don't act like sex on legs and then chase off all the pretty little things that come along."

Possibly that was not the best choice of words, but Simon didn't seem to notice. "I didn't _chase her off_. It was mutual."

"Then why's she the one snifflin' while you're just as arrogant and annoyin' as ever?"

Simon lifted his chin, not letting himself be stung by the accusation. "I show my regret differently," he said, and then half-laughed, like he couldn't believe he even had to defend himself. "It's not like she wanted to stick with me, anyway, once she found out..."

Jayne waited, but apparently Simon wasn't planning on finishing that sentence any time soon. "Found out what, doc?"

"I'm not interested in women," he spat. "I'm _sly_."

Jayne moved away quick, like his hand had been burned just by touching Simon.

"I didn't figure that would go over well," Simon said, sounding a little defeated. "I was trying to— trying to see if I couldn't work out a relationship with someone I liked anyway, even if she wasn't..."

He might've trailed off again, or it might've just been that Jayne was too far away then to hear the rest. He didn't run, but he moved quick.

The next week was spent more or less in avoidance, Jayne making every maneuver he could to stay a good few feet away from the doctor at least. When they did get close, a clothed arm brushing a side as they passed one another, Simon looked at him, expression hard and unreadable, and Jayne had to do his best not to shiver.

His dreams were more full than ever of pretty lips spouting off words he didn't understand, long fingers stroking all the way down his body. It was frustrating as hell in the morning, and he refused to jerk off then if the eyes came in, because as soon as they did he heard "I'm _sly_ " and it was almost as though he could feel those lips around his cock, still saying the words even while they blew him.

The thing was, Jayne didn't do avoidance well, and after Mal got shot later that week, with Simon running to get back to the ship and stitch him up, panting and looking disheveled, eyes wide, Jayne gave in.

"Sly, huh?" he said, lingering outside the infirmary. Simon's hands were just clean, Mal just around the corner, but he couldn't wait a second longer. "How's that work out, exactly?"

Simon gave him a look that very clearly said Jayne was still a man-ape thing gone wrong if he asked questions like that, but as he dried his hands he answered, "About the same as not being sly works for you, except there aren't quite as many male whores out here."

Jayne barely heard him, his eyes fixed on Simon's lips as they moved.

"Jayne?" It almost looked like Simon was blushing — no, he _was_ blushing, blushing over being stared at.

It wasn't right that he could look all sexed out all the time and still _blush_ when someone looked at him like he was the most delicious thing they'd seen in months.

Jayne stepped in, just through the doorway, and struggled to find the words he needed.

"Could you... show me?"

Simon stared for a moment, shocked, and then his eyes went just a bit dark and he nodded.

Sex, it seemed, was different in the core planets, too. On the border worlds it was all about reaching an end, flesh on flesh and touching and doing it quick, dirty, and simple. Jayne had never bothered much with experimenting with positions; the most variety in his sex life was the couple of times he paid a whore for a blowjob instead of just straight-out sex.

But the way Simon moved, sinuous and flowing as he stripped, climbed on top of Jayne's bed, on top of _Jayne_ , stretched up to kiss around his mouth — but not on it — and lick at his neck, that told of something different. He seemed like he had all the time in the world for it, for sex, like he wasn't in any rush to get to the end. It was torture, plain and simple, and Jayne groaned when Simon dragged fingers lightly over his chest, now and then brushing a nipple, ignoring it when Jayne thrust up. He ground back sometimes, teasing Jayne's cock with his ass, but kept on just _touching_ , moving above him, hair falling in his eyes and Jayne had been so, so wrong, because _that_ was Simon looking like sex, and so much better than him rolled up into one of his starchy shirts or panting from running.

Breath played over Jayne's ear, and he turned his head into it. "Do you want to fuck me?"

Jayne wasn't much for talking during sex, so he just grunted, pushing his hips up again. Simon smiled, smiled in a way Jayne hadn't seen before — though he really wasn't sure if he'd seen Simon smile before at all — devious and _God_ , those lips.

But those lips weren't touching him as Simon sat back, and Jayne almost didn't care, watching Simon slick his fingers up, push them in, fucking himself against his hand, and Jayne didn't really like to watch so much as _do_ , but damn if it wasn't making his cock ache for the doctor, seeing him writhe like that.

And Simon was patient, _too_ patient, and he had three fingers in before he was ready, lips parted and eyes almost closed, and then he drew them out, making a small, almost-disappointed noise, and then guiding Jayne in and—

God.

Jayne grabbed his hips, but mostly it was Simon doing the work, drawing himself up and pushing down and going fast, then slow when Jayne was close, then fast again. Jayne didn't whimper, but he might as well have, making it clear that he wanted to just keep going, to get to the end. Not that he was really complaining about having it drawn out, but he wasn't used to it, and it was driving him half-mad.

"Touch me," Simon said, stroking himself lightly for a moment before Jayne's hand tentatively pushed his aside, trying not to grip too hard, unsure. He wasn't used to it from that angle, not at all, and if there was one part of Simon he'd ignored in his fantasies it was that one, but it made Simon moan low, clenching certain muscles and going a little faster, like he didn't notice.

Jayne came first, his hand leaving Simon's dick to grip his thighs, holding himself down more than Simon as he thrust up through his orgasm. He was barely finished when Simon pulled off him, dropping one hand onto Jayne's bed by his shoulder, wrapping the other around his leaking dick again, pumping quick and rough — like it was on the border planets, like it should be—

Though Jayne's ideas about sex were starting to change, just a little.

Simon's lips were parted again, panting into his neck, and Jayne pushed him up just a little, ran a thumb over his bottom lip, and Simon came, eyes closing as he spurted across Jayne's stomach, shaking a bit.

They were like that just a moment, and then Simon got up and found a dirty shirt — Jayne's dirty shirt, of course — to wipe them off with. His expression was hard again, not quite as unreadable, though, and there was just a hint of a smile playing at those lips.

Jayne still wanted those lips.

"That was fun," Jayne said, and Simon rolled his eyes, but didn't have any comeback for that.

It didn't seem to change anything, not right away, except that when Jayne saw Simon elsewhere on the ship than in his bunk he wasn't so ashamed of why it made him think of sex, and when he jerked off he wanted to see more than just lips, hands, vague limbs.

Simon still strutted around like sex all the time, and Jayne made it his goal to pluck those peacock feathers from him one at a time and keep them for himself.


End file.
